Tag Archives: Taylor Congleton

WE BUILT OUR REPUTATION THROUGH EXCELLENCE AND ATTENTION TO DETAIL.

Founded in 2006 Congleton Service (formerly Congleton Racing and Restoration) is an independent Land Rover repair center. We repair Range Rover, Range Rover Classic, Range Rover Sport, Defender 90, Defender 110, Discovery, LR2, LR3 and LR4 Land Rovers. We also specialize in classic Land Rover Series I, IIA, III and Forward Control 101’s.

Our facility is clean, well lit and comfortable. Be sure to stop and visit with your Land Rover. Our customers are our best supporters and friends! We look forward to exceeding your service needs. Please take a stroll through our website to see what’s going on in the shop. Our “Social” page provides up to the minute Instagram photos of what’s happening. If you subscribe to Rovers magazine from Rovers North, be sure to look for our regular tech and how-to articles.

I’d always trust a Land Rover to get me to the remotest location. I’d want an aircraft carrier there waiting for me in the event that it assumed the British position when I went to start it the next morning.

2. Tell us a little about your background, your career and where you live.

Blue-eyed blond welfare baby born to a teen single-mother in small-town central Illinois. After working my way through college (and I do mean working — ask me sometime about some of those jobs!) I spent nearly a decade working for non-profits and politicians in Wisconsin till opting for law-school. I now live in New Haven with my perfect wife, Abigail, and our perfect children, Emma-Marguerite and Francesco. My eyes are still blue but the hair is gray.

3. How many Land Rovers have you owned and which was your favorite?

My ’97 Discovery is my first. It’s perfect for me. Stepped roof, alpine windows, and super-robust frame and drivetrain echo the original safari-mobiles while the ABS, airbags, A/C and side-impact beams update it just enough (my friends say it’s perfect for me because it’s a little bit redneck and a little bit elitist). After a long region-wide search (I wanted one without sunroofs) I found it hibernating mostly rust-free in an East Haven garage. The owner bought it as a project that he never got around to starting.

4. What’s the best thing about owning a Land Rover?

Two things: (1) Seeing it waiting for me in the parking lot: It promises adventure and escape, even if only once in a while, and (2) the friendship with my mechanic.

5. What’s the worst thing about owning a Land Rover?

The friendship with my mechanic.

6. Been on an adventure? – tell us about it

Besides the Muddy Chef? So far the adventures have been the steep learning curve in roadside repairs using bubblegum and duct tape.

7. How do you plan to beat the competition this year at the Muddy Chef Challenge?

Lock Eric Archer and Chris Copeland in the basement till August 3rd.

8. If you could ask Land Rover for a particular type of vehicle what would it be?

An updated NAS Defender 110 (or a 130!). I’m a family guy, and I’d love to have a suitably sized Rover for hauling the whole herd into some more remote locations.

World Class Whiskey – From Vermont?

I’ve been writing on wines and spirits for over 15 years, and living in Vermont for even longer, but the two have never had much in common – until now.

Unlike vodkas made from Maple syrup or even lactose (really), WhistlePig, which is bottled on a farm in rural Shoreham, Vermont, is not just another marketing gimmick – according to many critics it is the best rye whiskey in the world.

As I reported recently with the launch of a high-end rye from boutique bourbon maker Knob Creek, super-premium rye is the hot new spirits category. America’s favorite before Prohibition, rye is again all the rage among bartenders heralding a return of classic cocktails like the Manhattan and Old Fashioned. But WhistlePig is almost too good for this, and can be appreciated on its own.

Introduced in mid-2010 and made in very limited quantity (1000 cases), the story behind WhistlePig is unique. Industry legend Dave Pickerell, the longtime Master Distiller for the renowned Maker’s Mark bourbon distillery in Kentucky, decided to devote himself to a quest for the best rye possible, the next evolution of boutique bourbons. He wandered the earth trying rye whiskies, until he found what he considered its finest expression in the form of a new Canadian version, made from nothing but rye grain (law requires the majority of starch to be rye in order to be labeled rye whiskey, just as it requires 51% corn for bourbon, but pure ryes are rare).

For various reasons, including the fact that rye grain is considerably more expensive than corn, but also because a straight rye distillation is very tough on equipment, gumming it up with sticky residue, few distillers have bothered with pure rye whiskey. But the Canadians solved the sticky problem with two solutions, using malted rye and by developing a special strain of yeast-like fungus for distillation (for much more detail on this issue, check out this article from a great site devoted entirely to Canadian whiskies).

So Pickerell teamed up with WhistlePig founder Raj Bhakta, a former contestant on The Apprentice, who purchased a two century old working farm in Shoreham and renamed it WhistlePig Farm and began growing his own rye. Bhakta purchased the incredible Canadian rye whiskey, still in bulk storage, brought it back to Vermont, hand bottled it, and it blew critics away with rave reviews. At the same time, Bhakta and Pickerell, now Master Distiller for WhistlePig, have set up their own distillery on the farm and are working towards producing their rye from start to finish going forward.

But where it is made is not nearly as important as how it tastes.

Pickerell fell in love with the stuff because of its strength, purity (100% rye grain) and maturity – he calls the combination of proof and purity 100/100 and along with 10 years of aging in new American oak barrels, claims it hits “the sweet spot” in all three categories. I think he is right, and the balance between the higher than usual strength, higher than usual purity, and lengthy aging is perfect. It certainly does not taste like 100 proof, or half alcohol, because the woodiness for the aging perfectly balances the strength. It’s got just a hint of herby spice, maybe a little mint or cinnamon, but nowhere as much as many whiskies and less spicy zing than most ryes. Rather it j tastes of grain, its essential component, in a good, earthy, bread-like way, with the caramel-rich mouth feel of well-aged whiskies. I hesitate to call it straightforward, because that makes it sound simple, but its straightforward – it tastes like rye.

I’m not the only one who likes it. When the first batch was just released in mid-2010, it immediately earned a whopping 96-point rating from Wine Enthusiast – the highest rating the prestigious magazine has ever given to a rye. The Tasting Panel magazine gave it 94, and F. Paul Pacult’s acclaimed Spirit Journal gave it the highest possible 5-star rating. Details magazine simply called it “America’s Best New Whiskey,” while the Wall Street Journal named it one of the top five whiskies of the year. There was no shortage of other accolades.

And the odd name? Well to really appreciate that, you have to listen to the funny story in first person audio from Bhakta on WhistlePig’s website, but hey, it’s as good as lots of names, and to go with it, they created a suitable logo which reminds me of the Monopoly board game guy crossed with a pig. If I’m going to buy a $70 bottle of rye from anyone, it’s as likely as not to be a cartoon high-roller pig with a top hat and cigar.

But seriously, as whiskey lovers continue to enthusiastically embrace WhistlePig, there is likely to be a lag between the sellout of the limited first batch and future production, so hesitation might not be the best strategy.

Muddy Chef Challenge 4

Muddy Chef Challenge 4

The date has been selected! July 30 – Aug 2, 2015. We are excited to continue our relationship with Lime Rock Park as event host. Also, since last year several million dollars has been invested there in infrastructure and grounds. That means all new showers and facilities! Heck, we even have a Tequila sponsor. It’s going to be great!

WE BUILT OUR REPUTATION THROUGH EXCELLENCE AND ATTENTION TO DETAIL.

Founded in 2006 Congleton Service (formerly Congleton Racing and Restoration) is an independent Land Rover repair center. We repair Range Rover, Range Rover Classic, Range Rover Sport, Defender 90, Defender 110, Discovery, LR2, LR3 and LR4 Land Rovers. We also specialize in classic Land Rover Series I, IIA, III and Forward Control 101’s.

Our facility is clean, well lit and comfortable. Be sure to stop and visit with your Land Rover. Our customers are our best supporters and friends! We look forward to exceeding your service needs. Please take a stroll through our website to see what’s going on in the shop. Our “Social” page provides up to the minute Instagram photos of what’s happening. If you subscribe to Rovers magazine from Rovers North, be sure to look for our regular tech and how-to articles.

A whole bunch of photos from the cooking challenge. Just CLICK the image. Please enjoy and distribute however you like. Please be sure to thank our sponsors by tagging, hyperlinking, and with social media. Most of the apparent duplicate photos in the directory are HDR images.

Published: Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Above, 1982 Land Rover 109 Stage 1, owned by James Wollschlager of Mystic. Photo by Eric Archer of Warwick, R.I.

LAKEVILLE >> Calling all Land Rover enthusiasts. Pack up your oriental rugs, leather chairs, Land Rover flags and signs, gourmet grub, camp grills and lots and lots of gusto and head up to Lime Rock Park for a weekend of off road adventure, fine food and drink and lots of camaraderie.

The Land Rover Muddy Chef Challenge 3 is an adventurous weekend for Land Rover drivers who want to push their vehicle to the limits in rivers, over mountains and through woods, all under supervision, of course. No wonder its founder calls it “part Great Race and Iron Chef.”Planned for July 31 through Aug. 3, Land Rovers will descend upon Lime Rock Park and spend the weekend at area venues and proving what rugged, sturdy vehicles they really are built to be.Muddy Snack from Christopher Macecsko on Vimeo.

Aside from a camping fee of $35 a night, the event is free. Proceeds from a weekend raffle will benefit Autism Speaks, for more info visit http://wwwautismspeaks.org#sthash.iaELlP2p.dpuf.

“Land Rovers are your sort of rugged, safari, adventure-type vehicle,” says event creator Eric Yohe. As an owner of an unrestored, 1961 Land Rover Series IIA, the Madison resident is passionate about all things Land Rover and is a foodie.

Yohe arranged the first Muddy Chef in Stowe, Vermont and went on to host last year’s event in Mystic. Bringing the road race/cook-off to Lime Rock was a natural progression and embraced by the park’s Director of Business Development Walter Irvine, another Land Rover enthusiast, and former owner of a Land Rover LR2, who enjoys the “culture.”

“Off-roaders (are) very adventurous, typically very philanthropic, really up to doing crazy stuff like off-roading all day and then coming back and putting on a blazer and making a gourmet meal AT their truck,” Irvine explains.

Cooking a gourmet repast is part of the challenge. Attendees may cook whatever they can transport in their Land Rover. The dishes are then judged by an esteemed panel of fellow epicureans. No one walks away hungry and everyone has lots of fun concocting what they think is the tops in haute cuisine.

“It’s exciting and it’s nerve-wracking and you have to adapt, but it’s tons of fun,” says Madison participant Kristen Feeney.

How do fresh Nantucket bay scallops on a bed of local roasted sweet corn sound? To Yohe it sounded like a winning entry last year. Alas, other venturesome gourmands apparently served entries better tasting, better presented and better liked by the judges.

Away from the rugged terrain, attendees will put on their best cocktail attire – blazers and shorts and Lilly Pulitzer shifts – and visit two local venues.

The Falls Village Inn, complete with a taproom designed to honor the Lime Rock legacy, is “intimate and comfortable…A feel that honors not only Falls Village, but also that of Lime Rock Park, our famous neighbor,” says their website, http://wwwthefallsvillageinn.com/taproom.php.

Up the road in Dutchess County, New York, a long winding road will take guests to the Madava Farms where Crown Maple Syrup is tapped and refined to make a one of a kind maple syrup. While feeling like they have entered a Napa Valley winery, guests may partake in a maple syrup tasting in a finely appointed tasting room complete with a copper bar, website: http://www.crownmaple.com/visit-madava-farms.

Some of the events sound outrageous: “For those of you who want super rock crawler, smashed body panel gnarly you have access to Old Florida Road and MaBelle in Western, MA,” according tomuddychef.com. Yet Yohe stresses there is something for everyone.

“What I like about it the most is, despite the stressful things you have going in your life you really can’t think about anything else in your life except how am I going to get this vehicle and myself through these woods, over this obstacle,” Robert Wollschlager says. “It’s fantastic.”

Wollschlager, of Mystic, will join in on the fun with his dad, James. They will bring two of their four Land Rovers – a 1972 Land Rover Series 3 88 and 1982 Series 3 Stage- 1 V8 109.

Each morning there will be vehicle inspections and safety talks. The only prerequisite is that “your vehicle should be in good repair without any serious frame rust and able to handle basic off-road challenges.”

“The majority of our vehicles are the rare ones, the early ’60s ones, the ’70s … the classic Land Rovers,” Yohe says. In addition, the event draws drivers of “the Defender, which is what you see on safari…we get lots of those.”

Every morning, before venturing out there will be vehicle inspections and safety talks. The only prerequisite is that “your vehicle should be in good repair without any serious frame rust and able to handle basic off-road challenges.”

In need of a break from the rigors of off-roading, guests can head over to Orvis Sandanona Shooting Grounds in Millbrook, New York to experience sporting clays at “the oldest permitted shotgun shooting club in the country,” they boast on http://www.orvis.com/sandanona.

Back on the road, how about the Overland Challenge in the Housatonic State Forest?

“It’s sort of a high-tech Easter egg hunt,” says Yohe. “Drive to a spot with the GPS, get out and use the compass to go in the direction we tell you to go, start walking and you will find what ever it is. Somewhere in that forest is something to find like an orange flip-flop nailed to a tree.”

Whether you are an experienced off-roader or want to try it for the first time, love adventure and the thrill of the ride, or want to spend a weekend in the country learn more at Facebook/The Muddy Chef Challenge.

The Muddy Chef Challenge is a unique event. Unique in that it’s completely FREE and run entirely by a dedicated VOLUNTEER staff of Land Rover lovers and enthusiasts. This is no a “not for profit” event, it’s a ZERO profit event. So when you consider other events that charge registration fees. Ask yourself where does that money go? This year we decided to go the extra step and find a charity to donate to. Classic Car Performance has donated a High Torque Land Rover (Series or V8) for a charity raffle.

We will sell raffle tickets at the event and donate 100% of the funds collected to Autism Speaks.

In this case, good things DO NOT come to those who wait. We are rapidly running out of registration space for the event. Remember registration is free, the event is free too. The only thing you have to pay for is camping fees to Lime Rock park at a reasonable $30.00 per night! Tons of prizes and free swag. Shooting at Orvis Sandanona, beautiful Lakeville, CT location, race cars, Land Rovers, Crown Maple Syrup, what else do you want?